Toyohashi University of Technology (TUT) Penang campus invited current DISTED-JTP (Japan Transfer Programme) students and TUT’s lecturers and students to attend a luncheon on September, 24. The games and activities held during lunch provided an opportunity for students and academic professionals to network in a relaxed environment.

Three of DISTED-JTP students namely Tan Jun Yie, Moh Wei Hang and Martyn Seah Ze Xuen attended the luncheon and below is what they said:

The luncheon was very interesting, fun, and enjoyable, being able to meet new faces as well as some familiar faces. In addition, students who attended the luncheon had the privilege of eating “somen”, a traditional Japanese dish which is soy-based and very different from most of the Japanese dishes which we’ve seen in Malaysia. At the luncheon, we met different batches of students from the JTP programme and also some Japanese students from the Toyohashi University of Technology. A professor from the institute also joined the students.

During this session, the students taking up the JTP programme got to know about the lifestyle, the cuisine and the education in Japan. A variety of topics such as studies, culture, lifestyle, etc, were discussed. It was a meaningful session with the TUT students. We played some Japanese games such as the “kendama”, ate some Japanese finger food and learnt some Japanese phrases from them. We asked them about their experiences in Malaysia and in return we gave them some valuable information too. Apart from learning how to play ‘kendama”’ we also learnt about some Japanese dishes and culture. We also taught them some vocabulary in a few languages as we are rich in our varied culture. Above all, it was a chance for us to speak in Japanese with the Japanese students.

We got to see a glimpse of how my life would be after we completed our diploma in DISTED.